AFP, Miami :
Veronika Kudermetova ended the fairytale run of Paula Badosa in Charleston Saturday and booked a final showdown with Danka Kovinic in the WTA clay court tournament.
Kudermetova, the 15th seed from Russia, overcame her nerves to beat Badosa 6-3, 6-3 and reached her second final of the season.
She fell to Aryna Sabalenka in the title match at Abu Dhabi in January.
Montenegro’s Kovinic defeated Tunisian Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-2 to give herself a chance at a first WTA crown.
Spain’s Badosa, ranked 71st in the world, had reached the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 upset of world number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia.
It was just the second win of her career over a top-20 player, the first coming in the second round against 12th-ranked Swiss Belinda Bencic.
But Kudermetova, ranked 38th in the world, fired 28 winners – two more than her 26 unforced errors – and converted four of her six break chances to beat Badosa – who was able to take advantage of just one of her five break point opportunities.
